Alnwick Rugby Club's U12s return after 'wonderful experience' at Spanish tournament

The club took 22 players to the event, hosted by Marbella Rugby Cub, and they played matches against teams from Gibraltar, Seville and Malaga.

They also had an evening joint training session with the Marbella club.

The club said the standard of rugby was high throughout the tournament, with Alnwick U12s winning two matches, drawing one and losing three.

One of the organisers, Tony Manners, who also helps coach the U12s, said: “The rugby was very competitive.

“What we didn’t know was that the other teams had A and B teams.

“We took two very similar teams and put one in the A group and one in the B, and the team in the B group generally fared better.

“The coaches were extremely proud of the players, and couldn’t have wished for better performances.”

He added: “All the kids were impeccable and performed really well.

“We are overjoyed to have taken part in the tournament.”

The weather was hotter than the youngsters play in normally, about 22 degrees, but Tony said the tournament was really well organised and there was lots of water available.

He commented: “We tend to forget how resilient kids are.”

Making the tour a reality involved 16 months of hard work and fundraising by a lot of people, including the young players involved, with the team raising more than £30,000 to make sure the players were all fully funded, and parents and siblings subsidised, so everyone could enjoy the experience.

Tony said: “We have to say a massive thanks to all the volunteers and our sponsors.

“I like to think we did them proud.”

He said the tournament was “a wonderful experience”, however any future tours by the U12s would be to somewhere different.

Tony explained: “It wouldn’t be fair because we’d always compare that trip to this one.”

The U12s are taking part in a tournament a bit nearer to home on Sunday (April 23), when they play in Tynemouth, before the end-of-season awards night on Sunday, April 30.